Welcome to the Maha Kumbh Mela

My India Journal 2000

1/12/2000 - I walk with Baba in front of Access, wondering about my trip. My 7th Journey to India. A land of contradictions. Soon I must pack my stuff, and head for the airport. I fly tonight . A message from Baba “ ,-[pgbbbbbbbbbbbb7 “ as he walks upon my keyboard, he sez Me-Out “meowwwd” BabaKnows .....

1/14/2000 - My flight is long, and on Korean Air they have lousy food. I meet a couple of guys that are also transfering to Delhi after landing at Mumbai (Bombay). I suggest we travel to the domestic airport together. In Mumbai there are two airports, one is international and the other is domestic. Well, a good plan, but... My bags came out of the baggage area and somebody pulled them off the belt and put them on the side before I could see them. So I waited, and when I found them I was late and the other guys already split. I was in such a hurry (in my mind) that when I got into a taxi, my meditation beads broke and went flying on the street. I saw a lesson I needed, took a big breath, and continued. The locals helped me find most of the beads and I raced across town to the other airport. Slowly, I raced across town, lots of traffic in Mumbai... Well I dashed into the airport, very anxious not to miss my flight, also thinking about where I might stay if I missed it. Only to discover I had to wait about an hour anyway.... India, the land of hurry up and wait.

I land in Delhi, and I’m not sure if Anil is meeting me or not. I hope not, cause it’s late and I can just catch a cab and go to my hotel. At the airport there are special taxis that are on a fixed price, but you pre-pay at the airport. While I’m arrainging this I notice one of the guys from my flight, his name is Eric. He’s from Oregon, and he works for the forest service there. He came to India to see tigers and birds at the animal reserves. His parents friends are supposed to pick him up at the airport and host him a week. Since they didn’t show up (I think they went to the International airport looking for him) I suggest he come to stay at the YWCA till he can find his friends, he seems to be a cool guy so we off we go.

1/15/2000 - The YWCA International Guest House is a good hotel, in the central part of New Delhi. There is an old Delhi, by the way, where you can still see parts of these huge walls and old buildings. But, I want to be in the middle of town and this is aboul five long blocks from Cannaught Place, a big park around which there are two circles of shops and resturants.

Many of Delhi’s international travelers come here, and so I think I may meet some cool people. I find some westerners are staying at the YWCA also. I suggest that a few of us tour Delhi and off we go. First stop, the Lakshmi Narayana Temple. Very nice energy, not that it’s peaceful, lots of traffic goes by it, but inside you just feel like life comes to a stop and you can really take a breath and enjoy it. Good energy.... Next stop, is Manab Quitir, the oldest standing mosque, and there’s not much still standing. The main tower is impressive, about six stories tall and nice little terraces around the upper levels. I suppose they would call out the prayers from the top and all moslems would face Mecca and pray together. The rest of the ruins are quite vast, it was a large courtyard with high walls, some still have there stone roofs still intact. and a number of out buildings. There is also a big piller about 10 feet diameter (3 meters) surrponded by a 5 foot thick wall. As I walk around the piller I feel some very strange vibes. Especially around the back side. Whatever that was, I don’t know, but interesting anyway...... Then off to the India Gate. It looks like that big arch in France, and it’s a memorial to the vetrans that fought and died in the wars defending India.

While we were there, there were lots of army all around there. They were preparing for their big parade on Republic day (Jan 26th). There were some tanks and rocket launchers and even a helicopter on display. But the most fun was when we were walking back... This army guy comes by on his motercycle, not holding the bike, just balancing. Wow, he’s cool, and another guy comed by, and he’s sitting backwards on his bike, just looking over his shoulder and leaning to steer left or right. Double wow! Then more and more came by, some standing on the bike seat, others with 3 or 4 on a bike, more on a raised seat, maybe 10 feet up. And the grand finale... was 10 bikes across, with 10 riders, 10 guys standing on the backs and 9 others balanced between each bike. They were practicing for the Replubic day parade. Last stop, was the Lotus temple of the Bahai faith. It sits on a hill overlooking the city and it is shaped like a huge lotus flower with 9 petals. Each one represents one of the worlds major religions. They believe that you should keep and respect your own religion as you join Bahai, then as you grow to understand your own roots, you can share it with the world. No statues or singing at all inside, just a place to sit and be quietly there... We went back to the hotel and I was tired and ready to... rest, eat, meditate, smoke and crash out, in that order.

1/16/2000 - Today I went to visit Anil, at his office. Eric also came with us. I showed Anil my Ibook computer and he said he won’t let me leave India with it, he’ll have to buy it from me before I go. Well, we’ll see... I did tell him about my plan to bring a group to the big festival next year and he suggested a few people to talk to. He said also that his wife, Angeli, wants to go the festival next year. Then Anil invited us th his home for dinner. Well, OK I said reminding him about my being a vegitarian. Well, he had to call and tell Angeli to quick make something veggie. When we got to his house, I met his wife and daughter, and I remembered he had a big Dog, named Cesar. We all had a good talk together, I think Eric was starting to relax and enjoy India more. The food was very good and I later told Anil that I want to take them to a nice restaurant sometime too. Plenty of time for that, he said.

1/17-20/2000 - Been busy meeting with internet company to start an account. It’s cheap here I can Pay about 3500 Rs or $75 for 250 hours of use or 3 years, whichever is first. Meeting the tourism dept. to find out about the festival next year. They can provide all tents and facility for me. Sounds too good to be true. We’ll see... I also meet with associates of Anil that do web streaming, and we discuss the festival project. We discuss the possibilities and I ask them for a price to stream the festival on the main day that means live (and expensive) and to post an hour of video per day onto the site, which is cheap. I may even do it myself. They’ll let me know the price...

1/21/2000 - Today I started reading about becoming a Channel. Wow, it could be me! I don’t know, but it feels right. We’ll see... I go to the central park area feeling like I’ll meet someone... Maybe to help with my festival project. I see some travelers pass by, but something tells me to be patient. After some time passes, a fellow comes over to me to talk. It feels like he’s OK. From Switzerland, his name is Tom or Maruti Das. We hook up, have a smoke and then he takes me to see the real center of Delhi, called Para Gange. It is a crowded part of town with a market winding around little alleys and back streets. There are westerneres here too, but the ones who have lived here or traveled India many times. I feel right at home here, and right away meet some more people, even another guy from California. I think these folks may also want to come to the festival next year. So, we exchange e-mails and move on. Back to my hotel now, I say goodnight to my new friend Maruti and ask him to help me tomorrow on the project. Yes, we’ll see.....

1/22/2000 - I’ve been resting and reading more. I went with Maruti to contact the Gov’t of UP tourist office to get prices in Allahabad to stay at the Gov’t hotel. They are also trying to make a yoga conference in rishekesh. We will try to promote their conference to see them help us at the Kumbh Mela.
We get posters and Info about their project, maybe next year we can add the yoga conference as an option for our group. I start to work on the computer, finish rate card to make it into web pages. I may be ready next week to post it in public view.

1/23/2000 - Today I go again to the park to meditate and relax. Later, I meet with Maruti and we start to put up some posters, we decided if we get people to sign up we will split the 15% commission. It feels to me like practice for next year, and I can see what these government tourism guys are like for reliability. Today we also walked to pahar ganj to check out the other side of New Delhi. We met people from Austraila, Germany, Portugal, England and of coarse all parts of India. We parked on a rooftop cafe, got some good food and can look over the whole busy street. We are smoking and this is where I send this note from.....

1/24/2000 - Today I checked out pictures of deluxe tents to rent for next years festival. They look real cool. inside fully furnished. even western toilets. (eastern ones are basically a hole in the ground) I’ll show some pix on the web site, hopefully to be up soon. I’m reading and meditating alot it feels good to be home in India again.

1/25/2000 - Today I priced the airfare for my journeys around India. Wow, It’s not cheap to fly, like I hoped. To visit Bangalore, it’s about $255 each way. Then I heard about a special ticket I may get.... a tour all India ticket... It costs $500 for 15 days of travel, and you can go to any city the fly, inside India, of coarse. I’ll start that journey mid February, after the festival (Feb 10th is the main day). Today I met a group of Tasmanians (Australians), they just returned from a month of Tibetan studies. They met the Dali Lama... That’s cool. We went out to dinner together, about 15 people. I suggested a very fancy veg restaurant, but $5 a person was a lot of money to them, so we go for cheap food, about $1 each. I guess it depends how long you are here...

1/26/2000 - Today is the parade, I just woke up and I hear loudspeakers in the distance. I’m a little worried about trouble at the parade, so I think I’ll stay inside and watch it on TV at my hotel lobby. We’ll see... (time passes) Well the parade was totally cool. First the tanks and missles, wow what big missle you have... Jets roared by, I could hear them outside and ran out out of the hotel in time to see them go by. When I went back in, they went by on TV too. Then the Colorful Camels, about 200 all strolling by in perfect formation. There were marching bands and floats like Macy’s parade. Each state had a special float, some had local dancing and craftmakers. Others had music or groups showing village life, as if it were plucked out of time and made to appear in front of the viewer. Very good stuff. Then, the grand finale! The army team of stunt motercycle riders..... just as they had practiced all week long, they were totally awsome... Really. Standing or sitting backwards in piles and clumps these groups of men risked serious road rash, and even injury if anybody sneezed or moved an inch. It went perfectly smoothly.

1/27-31/2000 In the next few days, I moved to another hotel, the Indraprasta Hotel. It’s not far from the YWCA, on Ashoke road near Janpath. It is a tall building with 18 floors. I settle in to the 14th floor with a stunning view, a great south indian resturant downstairs at half the price if the YWCA (was 900 Rs or $20/day). It now costs 550 Rs or $12/day. My window looks out over a section of the city that has many trees. It’s nice to see from up here looking out over the jungle of the city. From the streets it’s so busy. Traffic is real tight about rush hour and their idea of driving too close is less than 1 inch... But from up here, I feel very peaceful, especially when I light some Insence and play wave sounds in my music machine.

I visited my favorite rooftop cafe again and met some new friends. Maruti went to Hardwar for a couple days to see his guru. A french couple I met told me it costs only 200 Rs or $4/day in Parah Gange, but that the police visited them a couple times a week to search for terrorists. No thanks. There’s a price thats too low and this is it..... (In fact, later when I visit Anil again and he says to stay out of that area, it’s dangerious. So I decide to be more careful.) They seem like a nice couple and we have dinner together at my south Indian resturant. They are off to Kathmandu Nepal in a few days to have handbags and shoulderbags custom made. He says they sold 800 last year at the local market in their village in France. She’s the designer, Bridgette... And off they go to Nepal. Most western people I meet are just passing thru New Delhi. Going where? Everywhere... I say most.... but a few fall through the cracks. Some westerners actually live here. As I meet them they have somehow adapted to live here. One fellow, from America is staying with locals and helping their family travel buisness. Alberto is friendly, he’s from NY and so we connect. He appears regularly at the rooftop cafe, trying to interest travelers in his hosts business. Going to Kashmir anybody? Well, it is a really nice place, even if there is a war there... I can see he’s tired of trying to sell. Maybe he’ll come to the Mela, we’ll see...

Today I visited Anil at his work, and surprise! He got an Imac. For his Sister, he says, but he’s smiling like a child. He is having fun teaching his sister how it works. Her name is Sadhana and she is designing and selling a line of clothes and fashion accories to stores. Sadhana uses the new computer to track customers and vendors. After she finished her work and left for a break, Anil hooked our two Mac computers together and we exchanged all the stuff thats cool. He helps me get my system reinstalled. I’m all set to leave town, but.... I need some cards printed, well he’s getting some for his sister anyway, so it’s set up for the printer. I hear him say he’s taking his daughter to the eye doctor. Hmmm, I could use some new reading glasses too. So off we go to pick her up from school and get an eye exam. The doc sez I need new specs. Thats what they’re called here. My old ones were not only wrong, but different from each other, left to right. Wow, after I pick them up the next day, I can see much better when I read. Everything I need, Anil seems to have going on. He has been such a help.

2/1/2000 Been trying to get out of delhi. Two weeks is too long, but I made the connections I needed. Now it’s time to go. I pick up my printed Kumbh Mela 2001 cards as I visit Anil again. I say goodby to him for now... Today I’ll visit the Jantar Mantar park to relax and meditate. The energy inside the park is more peaceful and better for me then the street. After being out in traffic I feel the need to chill out. Delhi is an intense place...

2/2/2000 I’m thinking about MurutiDas, is he back from Hardwar yet. When I call his friends travel company to find out if he’s back, and he’s is right there. Wow... Going to the Mela? Yes, why not? So I meet him and we are ready to go. What about Alberto? Well, the train station is near the cafe, so off we go to see if he’s around. As we arrive at Pahar Gange, I can see Alberto right away, he’s on the street up ahead. We start to talk to him. Do you want to go to the mela? He says Don’t know. Just then a cop comes over... He is living with these Kashmiris. Well the cops must regularly hassel these guys, and they run away when they see the cop. But, Alberto stands his ground. So the cop thinks Alberto is local and walks up to him and slaps him hard right on the face. I’m about two feet away, Alberto suddenly starts to fight back and the whole street runs over to see it. A second cop jumps in and they grab him. They’re taking him to headquarters now and I can’t believe what’s happening. I’m trying to tell the cops that he’s American, and when they hear that they let him go, but what a scene. Delhi is intense. Well, now Alberto... Do you want to go to the Mela? And off we go, three babas on the night train.

2/3/2000 The next morning, as we arrive in Allahabad, we pick a cheap hotel cause they don’t have much money. Then, after I lock up my bags safely, we go to explore the mela.... The first day in the mela is exciting for me. I know where I am again, remembering the roadways, pontoon bridges and favorite smoking spots. As we walk the last half kilometer into the mela grounds, there’s a kind of carnival by the road. It has rides, a ferris wheel and a motercycle driving around a big barrel or something*. Then we walk past rows of shops selling blankets and kitchen stuff,flowers and sweets to offer to gurus and to the river, and posters and statues of the Gods and Goddesses. The shops continue as the road splits into two and they both lead up the rise of a gentle hill. Now... I have seen this place both, very full with millions of people and nearly empty with only hundreds. As we come to the top of the hill, we get our first sight of it... It’s full, all the way across the river an ocean of tents. Three kilometers across and at least a few kilometers up river I can see tents, tents, tents*... and then, up river, open sand. Unlike the Maha Kumbh in 1989, there was no open sand to see at all then. I will guess this is half a million people living here now. In 1989, there were a million in the river banks and another million camped on the way into the grounds. As we walk down the road I remember a spot where there is a tree near the road. there are usually shiva babas hanging out here. Yes, sure enough, there they are. I doubt these are the babas from before, but maybe... So we take a break here and the babas offer us their chillum, (smoking pipe) with charis (hashish) and tobacco mixed.

We explain that we don’t smoke tobacco and we then offer to smoke some good pure charis with them. They are not used to this and lots of laughing results*, and we’re all are having fun. Boy are they sad to see us go, but we must explore more. The mela is so big, that after a while we come to the sangam. The main bathing area, where the rivers meet, the confluence. The other guys take a dip in the river. I feel reluctant to go in, don’t know why. Then weary, we head back for the long walk back to the mela entrance area and the even longer cycle rickshaws through rush hour traffic. When we get back, I decide to split from the hotel they are at and get a nicer one for myself. I’m tired and out like a light!
* MUST SEE TO BELIEVE

2/4/2000 The three of us decide to take a boat this time to get to the mela. It is very shanti (peaceful). A slow entry into the mela energy. When we get to the main bathing area, it’s different being in a bout then on the shore. I feel safer and decide to take my dip into the river here. The other guys can watch my stuff while I go in the water. Ok, yes I’m standing in my underpants and the water is not warm. But after a few minutes I get used to it. It’s only waist deep and the current is so strong, it will take me away if I let it. I did the prayers and offered three coconuts, and then took three full dips, under the water. Very good feeling to let it flow over me. I return to the boat, pay the priest for services and coconuts (about $3). Then the boat took us to the shore so we could do lots of walking around the mela. We saw too much stuff. There were camps that had stages with singing ans some with speaches. Booths were selling all wares and the beggars were lined up along the main streets. There was one beggar who had his burried in the sand... He was breathing with difficulty, so I gave a donation for his deep spiritual quest (or maybe he was crazy?). Through the mela, always something different to find. It’s amazing.

2/5/2000 The crowd is even more today, it is unbelievable. MarutiDas wants to stay in town and rest, so Alberto and I head out to the mela. We met this group in one camp that invited us to stay there with them. I may, later... They show me the deluxe tents that I saw pictures of earlier. There is even one with a western toilet with a cement floor in the washroom/toilet area. This is a cool camp, central location and guard in front with tin walls around the outside. Looks very safe... Visiting a few different camps, meeting new babas and sadhus. After walking for a couple miles, we then decide to set up the tent in a spot that is up river a little and so it’s quiet. I do a really great meditation here and Wow, now I feel like I’m really at the Mela. Albert also does a little meditation, but I feel his uneasiness with the crowds. After it gets dark we head back. It’s a mile walk to the Mela entrance, where we catch a cycle rikshaw back to town.

2/6/2000 Off to the mela again, meeting babas and gurus. One guru who has the magic power, according to the story about him in the paper he shows us, to make people stay with him, under his control for 45 minutes. Well we waited the 45 minutes before we could leave and realized that his making people wait, was the lesson that most people needed. To learn to be patient, wow, another of India’s contradictions... As we leave the mela, we ride a horse cart, just to try it. It turns out to go pretty fast and it was fun too. Off to my nice room to rest...

2/7/2000 Today I go on my own to explore the mela. After a good rest and a nice glass of lassi (kefir) at the Yatrik hotel, I get a moter rickshaw, same driver I had before. Good, he speaks english too. Off to the mela grounds. He takes me close to the entrance, only about a mile to walk. Good thing I been walking for months to get ready. First stop, the babas by the tree near the fort entrance. They remember me and it’s all buddy buddy.

2/8/2000 I’m feeling like staying at the mela in my tent. when I talk to the MerutiDas and Alberto, they’ve had enough Mela. They are going to Benares... Cool, I have more fun anyway just being around the locals. So, I check out of the hotel, say bye to the guys and catch a rikshaw to the Mela... I found a site for my tent away from the crowds, on the bank of the ganges, accross from the main bathing spot. The river is strong, but only about 100 meters across. I can see the Jamuna river as it pours into the Ganges, becoming one mighty river on it’s way to Benares and Calcutta and to the ocean.... I write from this place of total Shanti, peace and solitude. A baba walks by each hour, not much more. But just across the river are thousands still comming and others going as the sun starts to head down. I will remember this time as the best of this visit....
Later the same night I am sitting in my tent, on the bank. I hear the river’s edge slurping and lapping along, and the cacaphony of sounds behind. Singing, bells ringing, spiritual talking and music all on loudspeakers just accross the river, some half mile away. And then, a train will cut through it all as it crosses the main road/train bridge across the Ganges. It’s about 3 kilometers across the river bed. Now the water is only 200 meters across, but in July the Ganges is the full 3 kilometers across. The sun set while I meditated and a slice of the moon could be seen for only a short time. Now about that sound, it’s still going strong. Late into the night...

2/9/2000 In fact, all night long there were sounds from the loud speakers. Till about 3 am, when it seemed to quiet. I could still hear the roar of the crowd from all sides. People were comming to bathe at the sangam all night long, but once when I woke and looked over the 200 meters across the river to see, there were only a few people at the water front taking a dip. Then, it grew again to hundreds of people in the early hours. Now, at nearly 7 am, the crowds are in the thousands again, gathered again to take a dip and pray to the Holy Mother Ganga. I can see that there is no hurry in the people, they are sharing the limited space like they are sharing everything here, only at the mela. No pushing, shoving, or cutting in front that is everywhere else in India.
In the markets and on the streets it’s a matter of coarse, if I can squeeze my car in front of your bus I will and, if I can squeeze my motercycle in front of your car I will and, if I can squeeze my bicycle in front of your motercycle I will and, if I can squeeze my body in front of yours I will.
In the Mela, it’s different. People come with an open mind, well most do. They come here with just hope that a blessing will come to them and little expectation of what facilities are available. Some come to camp and live here, but most are just visiting for a day or two during one of the special times. January 14th, February 5th & 10th, and others

As I write, more pilgrims are comming to the sangam, looks like about ten thousand now. I sit in my tent, watching them gather. I’m camped on a sand barge on the middle of the Ganges. I was dropped off by boat yesterday afternoon. I’m not on a deserted island, I can wade to the other bank, but there are no other tents around this spot, just some sadhus that wade across the shallow water from the other bank, to take a dip here where the river is deeper. I think this empty place was very full on the 5th, but now it’s peacful so I’ll stay here for now....
Now, half hour later, a fog has moved in and covered the whole river. I can’t see more then 100 meters. All white, I can just see the sun, but I still hear the loudspeakers and the dull roar of a crowd of ten thousand people all calling out or praying or just laughing at once. Now and again I hear a group cheering for something and they all call out “Jai” meaning victory to god.
Later in the afternoon I’ve been meditating and reading about channeling. A lazy day by the river. Just what michaels ordered. Well, I could be here forever, but... My instincts lead me out of the mela, for a hotel in Allahabad, and a chance to see my email. I hope Irina has sent me a letter...

2/10/2000 It takes a while to get out to the mela today. As I stop at the bank, I meet a guy from england, Dan. He just saw the mela when he took the bus up from Benares. We cruise to the mela together, but he quickly chooses to walk around the mela grounds and explore the fort and sangam. I set up camp on the river bank again, but this time near the #2 bridge, on the near bank of the Ganges river. Near some babas I met a few days ago, they have a nice tent on the edge of the riverbank, about 20 feet above the water level, overlooking the three bridges setup to carry people and vehicals across the Ganges. There is a constant stream of people crossing the river. On the main days the traffic is controlled to be one way (mostly). Today is very busy, but not the crowds of the 5th. It is good that I arrived early. This spot is looking out from my tent upon the river and the streams of pilgrims crossing. There are Tents with colorful flags in almost every corner of this 3 kilometer wide river bed. I have a break from the constant flow of people asking, “Where are you from?”. I have to chase them away sometimes. Especially when I setup the tent, their eyes are so wide. Then, after 20 minutes or so, the crowd gets tired of hanging around. Then, there is peace... till the next person comes by to peer in... “Hello.... “. And I came here to find peace? We’ll see.... I’ll try to do my Meditation... Well a top class meditation was had. I experienced Mother Ganges, flowing with love. I’m just hanging out , enjoying the energy as evening has set and I write these lines. Soon I plan to go back to the Milan hotel to sleep, charge my computer and check my mail again....

2/11/2000 Well, a good night sleeping helps. Today I will just rest, meditate and write/computer/read stuff. A day to absorb the intensity of a tent city... Wonderful place, Allahabad, it’s old name is Pryag. From the roof top of the Milan hotel, you can see the real city. rooftops are dotted with plants and hanging clothes. Children are out with the sun and up go their kites and their spirits both to fly high above the rubbish and noise of daily life. The streets are a mix of shops and people buying all things. A prosperous city, yet all corners are piled with the litter of an old city. Some buildings sit still where a roof or wall has fallen, to become the shelter for another poor family, still lower on the chain of existance. Soon I go for my train back to Delhi. This will be first class, private compartment. Wow, for $20 I can relax, and enjoy the ride. when I wake up I’ll be in Delhi (at 4am...) oh well, the night train had over 100 people waitlisted, so I travel in the afternoon...

Before I go, there’s time to check out the Kumbh Mela reservation for next year. My rikshaw is waiting, Puran Chandr, Auto # 116. He has helped me already a few times and has an AUTO rikshaw, that’s faster than a cycle rikshaw. He helps me talk to the Kumhb Mela office on the phone, because they don’t speak english. He says we should go to their office. I ask if it’s far and he says no, but looks at me a little funny. So we start to cruise and of coarse their office is at the mela. I got to meet Chandrika Tripathi, official space arrainger for the kumbh mela..... And he speaks english (thank you Lord). I even got his phone #, cool. Well, I ask for an application, and he gives me a pen and blank paper. I wrote out anapplication and then he wanted me to meet the Digambara, or district magistrait for the Kumbh Mela. But, after I waited for an hour, I had to split to catch my train. My train, is so cool... I’m writing this from my own private compartment. I have a window out the landscape, and a locked door on the other side. It has two beds on one wall and a little table. At first I was booked to another compartment, that was full of people... Then I talked to the conductor, asked for private, and he found me the right spot. It all took five minutes, and he felt like he rescued me. I only got what I expected, but was not going to get, cause that’s the way things go, and it all worked out anyway... Did that make sense? Maybe I’ll have another one... It’ll be a long train ride, 3pm to 4am, wow...

2/12/2000 A long train ride (little sleep) and now I’m back at the YWCA in Delhi (a little more sleep). I’ll visit Anil & check my mail, then make a plan about Bangalore. I think I’ll go to the Jantar Mantar and meditate... Back in Delhi again, Yes. Nice Meditation today, very good energy. For lunch I am at the rooftop cafe in Parah Gang writing these words. It’s nice weather today, foggy in the morning, but clear now. I feel more pollution has built up since I was here. I talked to Anil and I’ll see him tonight. All is well, and soon I go to Bangalore... Now, I think I’ll order another Pinapple Lassi (Kifir). mmmm good...

It is night now and I’m happy in my YWCA room (with the heater on) just writing on the computer again. I think I’ll send some more mail out...

2/13/2000 This morning I changed hotels. Not a big deal, but took a couple hours anyway... Back to the Indraprastha, this time on the 12th floor. After moving, I took a quiet day, starting with a meditation at Jantar Mantar, the observitory from 1710. then I walked to Cannaut Place and sat in the park a while. I spoke to this french guy who seemed about 70 years old, though he did’t speak much english. I somehow inderstood him to say, he’d been coming to India for 30 years, but now it was degraded too much. He wasn’t comming again. Then I went to my rooftop cafe, to look down upon the degraded India of Pahar Gange. I slowly walked back through the market and picked up a few things. It is a cheap place to buy stuff. Then i caught a rikshaw Back to the Hotel to chill and charge my batteries...

2/14/2000 Happy Valentines Day... I sent a card to My valentine, and I got one too! A quiet day with morning meditation at Jantar Mantar, lunch at the rooftop cafe in Pahar Gange and an evening at home (the Indraprasta Hotel) on the computer. I wanted to call home tonight, but no phone around here...

2/15/2000 Today I’m off to Bangalore. I feel happy. I started the Kumbh Mela project and I’m ready to go find myself. The Ashram is a good place to begin this part of the journey. I visited Anil again today, he picked up my air ticket. I saved $75 paying in Rupees (about $180) instead of Dollars ($255) for a one way ticket. I called my friend Sudhir yesterday. Vatsala, his wife answered the phone. I told her about my arrival and she said they’d pick me up. She also said she would call the Ashram to let Rama Mata know I’m comming. It will be so good to be with my Bangalore friends again. After Sudhir & Vatsala picked me up at the airport, we went out to the Polo Club for drinks and dinner. I had a beer & some spicy food. I’ll sleep well tonight.

2/16/2000 Today I woke up in Bangalore, feeling fresh. Sudhir has a large house, very nice... The guest room is upstairs, just off the rooftop deck area. When I did my meditation I enjoyed being in the open very much. Nice place, with lots of trees and birds. Last year I didn’t relax enough to enjoy this place fully. Not too many people on the street, and more relaxed too. Much nicer energy then Delhi. Well, after a Masala Dosa breakfast, it’s off to the ashram. I’ll stay there first, and check out the town later.
I’m at the Ashram now. I had a nice slow walk about the place. So peaceful, so shanti... I’m resting at my cottage, writing this and waiting for Rama Mata to return from Bangalore. I haven’t yet seen her. I have brought her Almonds... Feels like I’m home.... I’ve asked the mgr to clean up the cottage and fill the pool... On the rooftop, is a deck and a pool. It’s hot here and that will be cool to soak in. should be ready tomorrow. I had a wonderful talk with Mataji, very inspiring. She’ll come to Kumbh Mela next year and give a one week lecture program about Bhagavatam. Now I can start to invite people to come. Don’t know the prices yet, but we’ll make it affordable for everyone...

2/17/2000 Today is a beautiful day. I woke early to the sound of birds. I did my meditation on the roof and then took a dip in my pool... I had the idea to make a pool on the roof, fifteen years ago. Today was my first time swimming in it. Feels great.... I go from my cottage to the main house to talk to Mataji about fixing up the cottage, keeping it empty, and offering it as a retreat place for travelers. The 300Rs per person would go to the ashram, and the place would be kept cleaner. After some dosa and my talk with Rama Mata, I’m doing some work on the computer, studying and reading. I’ll try the internet connection later, when the electric returns. It goes out a couple hours a day. Life on the ashram is good, peaceful and healing. I may stay some days here......